Need an expert in connectivity

Avatar for bewildered05
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Need an expert in connectivity
2
Mon, 11-15-2004 - 9:16am
I'm on dial up (yeah, I know). Last year starting in November I was having a hard time connecting to the internet. It would dial out but the handshake wasn't the normal one. Most of the time it would give me the message that "there is no answer". I called my ISP, replaced my modem and had the phone company check out the lines. No one could figure it out. The times that I would have trouble connecting would be anywhere from 10 PM until about 8 AM. In February, my cordless phone died. I'm told that it was the battery and phone that were doing it. From February thru November I enjoyed connecting anytime. Now that it's November, I'm having the SAME problem again! I've pulled the phone lines out of the walls, pulled the electric power supply out of the wall (for my cordless) and even took the battery out of the hand reciever. I'm wondering.....do phone lines get cold??? It's only been this last week that it's been getting below freezing at night. I can't afford cable and DSL isn't available in my area yet. I'm out in the sticks, in the county.

If anyone has ANY ideas at all, please let me know! I'm getting desperate.

Lynne

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2003
Mon, 11-15-2004 - 4:15pm
You have done everything that you can do. This is a phone company and ISP issue and they will never admit it. How can you fix?, regrettably you can't short of finding another ISP or telephone service provider. Your problem is typically caused from traffic. Yes traffic jam just like in your car on a highway the same thing happens on telephone lines and cable connections. If the service can't handle the traffic, then you don't connect plain and simple. This is a growing issue in many parts of the country. Especially when one person buys a connection then networks twenty or more other users. The only advice I can offer is to document the time you cannot access the internet, then document all the phone calls that you make to your ISP and telephone company. Since there is no governing body that you can report any of these organizations to, you can use your documentation to leverage to another provider.

Ed

Avatar for bewildered05
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Mon, 11-15-2004 - 5:56pm
Thanks for the prompt answer, Ed. I kinda figured I was up a creek without a paddle. If it's only doing it at night, could it be traffic? Why only when it's below freezing here? I'll start documenting it tomorrow morning as I'm sure it will start again. If I switch to another ISP and it's the phone lines, wouldn't I still have the same problem? (please say no, it will cure the problem!) :)

Lynne